Archie gay marriage comic sells out

Despite attempts by a conservative American mothers’ group to have it pulled from sale, the new Archie comic, which features a gay marriage, has just sold out.

Tracing the adventures of the teenagers Archie, Betty and Veronica in the small town of Riverdale, the Archie storyline has been running for 70 years and is one of America’s most popular comic series. Its publisher described the marriage of Kevin Keller, the series’ first gay character, in the latest issue as “a historic moment”, announcing yesterday that the Life with Archie #16 had sold out.

The strong sales follow a call from the American Family Association’s website One Million Moms for Toys R Us to stop selling the new Archie issue. The conservative Christian group is concerned that “children are now being exposed to same-sex marriage in a toy store”. “Please remove all the same-sex ‘Just Married – Archie’ comic books immediately from your shelves. My decision to shop in your stores depends on it,” they have written to the retailer.”